Špilberk Castle offers Christmas visitors enchanting light show

Brno was declared European Capital of Christmas 2024 and the Moravian metropolis has pulled out all the stops to create a magical winter wonderland for visitors. While the city’s Christmas markets celebrate local crafts and traditions, a lightshow at Špilberk Castle highlights of the city’s history and legends.

Photo: Zdeněk Truhlář, Czech Radio

Visitors to Brno during the Christmas season should definitely make time for a trip to Špilberk Castle after dark. Established in the 13th century by Přemysl Otakar II to protect both the Czech lands and the town of Brno, the castle with its tower and bastions is an imposing sight at any time, but this Christmas it offers a unique show.

Every evening, its courtyard is transformed into a breathtaking light park full of glowing knights, princesses, troubadours and the Brno dragon, the symbol of the city which, according to an old legend terrorized its inhabitants in medieval times, until it was slain by a courageous butcher.

The light show is the work of the Brno Museum, which is housed in the castle. Its head Zbyněk Šolc, explains the idea behind the Christmas light park.

Photo: Zdeněk Truhlář, Czech Radio

“We decorated the whole castle with figures from the town’s history and legends. There is of course the Brno dragon – much bigger than you will see at the Old Town Hall with its wings spread lit up in red and white. And there are figures who inhabited the castle in days gone by – princesses, troubadours, knights, serving maids and craftsmen. We even have a horse and chickens in the small courtyard that depict everyday life at Špilberk Castle in the olden days. There is a carriage heading to a ball and fencers at a tournament. And here on this bastion we can see soldiers with canons who successfully defended the city against Swedish raids.”

 

Hundreds of thousands of lights bring Brno's Špilberk Castle to life every evening. There is a glowing nativity scene with the three kings. The winter atmosphere is enhanced by the projection of falling snowflakes on the walls of the observation tower. Zbyněk Šolc says that even the number of figures on display at the castle is symbolic.

“In the park we have exactly one hundred and twenty illuminated figures and objects of all shapes and sizes. This is no coincidence. The Brno City Museum, which manages the castle, is celebrating its one hundred and twentieth anniversary this year.”

The brightly lit tree in one of the courtyards, also has a special significance. It commemorates the centenary of the Christmas Tree of the Republic, a tradition that also originated in Brno.

Photo: Zdeněk Truhlář, Czech Radio

It started with the rescue of a little girl who was found abandoned in a forest near Bílovice nad Svitavou in 1919, three days before Christmas Day. Journalist Rudolf Těsnohlídek, who was passing that way with his friends and saved her life, started to think about how he could help abandoned children. On a trip to Copenhagen, he saw locals collecting money for poor and orphaned children under a decorated tree and decided to bring this Scandinavian tradition to Czechoslovakia.

The first Tree of the Republic, as he called it then, was felled on 6 December 1924 in a forest near Bílovice and ceremoniously lit a week later on Brno’s Freedom Square. Thanks to the collection under the tree, a children’s home was opened in the city and was named after Danish Queen Dagmar, famed for caring for the poor. The tradition of Christmas trees on squares spread to Pilsen in 1926 and later to Prague.

The gates of the light park at Špilberk Castle open every day at 5.30 pm and close at 10 pm. There is a charge for admission, but on Christmas Eve the park will be open for free. The unique exhibition will run until 12 January 2025.